Our Troops DO Protect Our Freedom and We Should Thank Them for Doing So

They havent fought for our freedoms in a very long time. They fight for the american empire and the corporations that run it for profit, that is all.
Its blatantly obvious and cannot be rationalized away anymore. It has nothing to do with al queda or the taliban taking over the country and taking
our freedoms. If there was a legitimate threat, dont you think there would be attacks all over america like suicide bombings? There hasnt been one.
They occur where we are occupying their land and the troops are the ones who pay.

We need to bring them all home including the soldiers from all the military installations in countries all over the world. Lets protect our own
country and fight threats when they come to us. They can start by removing the corporate fascist dictators we call our "elected officials" and the
federal reserve. I will happily thank them all if they would do that.

You're doing what you've been taught to do, Homer. There isn't any shame in that, necessarily; the problem is when soldiers try and also put that on
civilians.

I can't, however, agree with you that anything that has been done by the American military since at least Vietnam, has in any way contributed to the
country's maintenance of freedom or safety. Both Afghanistan and Iraq were nothing other than a blatant, corporate resource grab. I'm aware that you
might have been told otherwise by your superiors; but if you have been, then I'm afraid you've been lied to.

I also agreed with the article you're responding to here, in its' assertion that if the American government begins taking action against its' own
citizens, it will be using the military to do so. Doubtless when that happens, you will probably believe the lies promoted by the likes of Janet
Napolitano, about "domestic terrorism."

I don't know whether the Army oath is different, but the oath taken by the Marines is to defend the Constitution from threats, "foreign and
domestic." I don't know how much attention you pay to what your government does, but if you do some research into the actions of your last two
administrations, you may come to realise that the real threat to your country at this point in time is domestic, not foreign.

Civilians at this point want and need a military that is going to *genuinely* protect their lives and freedoms from the excesses of corporate owned
government. We do *not* want a military which takes its' orders from said corporations, including orders to shoot us if it is considered necessary,
and who are then brainwashed into falsely believing that they are still defending our freedom, even as we are being killed by them. (As many people
currently are domestically, by the American police)

Please give this some serious thought. The wellbeing of many people potentially depends on it.

I have just a question or two on the issue of whether our troops protect us etc.

#1 Why has no other country attacked our shores? I would safely bet that if an enemy thought they could sail or fly or march in unopposed, they
would.

#2 If the country in which we live, ( or you live ) is attacked and the S-it hits the fan, who are we/you going to call to defend us/you and sacrifice
their lives? A Newspaper Editor? Bill Gates? Or a Kitten Eating Pit Bull?
Hardly!!

You know it is so easy to criticize and judge when you don't have any skin in the game. Not to say you can't have an opinion but I think it would be
a bit fairer to walk up to a service man or woman and give them A CHANCE TO DEFEND THEIR HONOR AND DIGNITY AGAINST YOUR VERBAL OPINIONS AND
ASSAULTS.

Wouldn't a person rather have them and not need them? Or need them and not have them? How about just showing some common RESPECT!!!

IMO I feel very sorry for the troops in this day and age because not only are they preyed upon by the recruiting officers and are LIED to in order
join/sign up to DIE for elitist scumbag WARMONGERS & WAR CRIMINALS, but also because of so much brainwashing that the MIC does to them. They are
exposed daily to toxic chemical weapons, as well as the 'enemy'. There isn't ANY enemy, except the black bloodthirsty vampires in the Demonic
Corporation (DC) that creates the 'enemy' that our troops are supposed to be fighting against.

Yes there are bad people everywhere, there are some terrorists in pretty much every country around the world, but IMO the biggest, most ruthless
bloodthirsty TERRORISTS are the ones that send our youth to DIE in the oil and poppy fields for Big Brother, Big Pharma, Big Agra, Etc. Etc.

If we really want to support our troops, BRING THEM HOME!

Absolutely not one of these wars that the warmongers in DC have sent our brainwashed youth to the desert is justifiable. Prove me wrong! After 9/11,
since 95+% of the so-called 'hijackers' were from Saudi Arabia, WHY didn't we go there!? Why did we go to Iraq? I believe it was more than just
to get rid of the CIA's asset Saddam, who is probably in Coco Cabana with Mubarak, Noriega, McVeigh, etc. Our troops were sent there to basically
setup the biggest military airport in the Middle East and the main serious reason was to destroy any and all artifacts that would prove beyond a
matter of any doubt, of our true origins of the human species and destroy Mesopotamia in order to finally build the second Babylon in Israel /
Palestine. The list goes on and on...

Now to say that they are actually fighting for OUR freedom in the desert 1/2 way around the world!? That is a pipe dream and utter BS. They are
blindly following serious mass murdering orders from corporate vampires that could care less about them, you, me, your children, family and anyone for
that matter!

I'm very thankful that a lot of soldiers are FINALLY waking up to this nightmare reality that has been stolen from our true existence on our planet.
We merely have to look in the mirror, follow the money, ask who really benefits from all the genocide that the USofA has done and is still currently
doing, in the name of liberty and freedom!?

If that's what you consider freedom, by basically killing more civilians than actual 'insurgents' than I guess I didn't read history right or my
reality is far from what it should be....

21st century war is not about freedom, it's about money, profit and genocide. Nothing more, nothing less. It's sad to say that they are fighting
for our freedom. They are fighting for the corporations that are not only raping the land of many countries, but they are also raping US and OUR
SOLDIERS and the soldiers FAMILIES!

WAKE UP AMERIKKKA. We are now a province of China, still bound and gagged by the elitist scum 'royalty' of Britain! Obama is not powerful enough
to fight his way out of a wet paper bag. He is a mere puppet like the rest of them and to this day, our POTUS are SUBSERVIENT to the Queen of
England, soon the KING. Always has been that way, and will always be that way, until WE THE PEOPLE actually get off our dumb asses and DO SOMETHING
about it! Off with their heads!

GET MAD! We need to take OUR country back from these criminals NOW or we will all perish as cowards!

So, if the troops actually DO fight for our freedoms as the topic says, I would like PROOF to why and how they are doing so...

I think in a perfect word every nation would support and cheer on the people charged with protecting them but, this isnt a perfect world.

I've read that the soldiers are brave, I dont doubt that and they deserve respect but the distinction needs to be made between the soldiers fighting
and the people making the decisions to put them there.

Even if the soldier is brave and knows he's doing the wrong thing-
Is it not difficult for a soldier to question his orders?

If I were from the US I would be putting my time and energy in to changing the corporate lead government who are using your soldiers under false
pretences for their own gain.

More and more vets are becoming aware of this enraging reality and are speaking out.

I think the rose tinted glasses need to come off and what your troops are ACTUALLY doing AND the circumstances around what they are doing should be
looked at more closely by the populace.

Maybe more objectivity is needed and less, I'm sorry to say, blind following.

Armed forces for whichever country DO protect our freedom, however the way they are used by the governments of the world is the problem.
If a certain country was attacked by another in a serious manner you can guarantee that the troops would be protecting you to some extent.
I understand why people think what they are doing is wrong, and believe me the troops feel it is wrong too, but as long as the forces are controlled
by the governments they will be used as tools.
It is not as easy as saying the troops should turn on their superiors and get back to protecting the country. There are that many different ranks to
consider, who are also making these decisions to send the troops into stupid conflicts, it would be like a one man protest.
The troops are good people and generally dont want to lose good careers so are willing to either put up with the current situation with minimal fuss,
or leave the forces.
Why would a group of troops risk either losing a good career or going to jail for the sake of trying to stand up against the higher
ranks/government?
Not sure about other countries but i know for a fact its illegal for the british forces to go on strike.

I think in a perfect word every nation would support and cheer on the people charged with protecting them but, this isnt a perfect world.

I've read that the soldiers are brave, I dont doubt that and they deserve respect but the distinction needs to be made between the soldiers fighting
and the people making the decisions to put them there.

Even if the soldier is brave and knows he's doing the wrong thing-
Is it not difficult for a soldier to question his orders?

If I were from the US I would be putting my time and energy in to changing the corporate lead government who are using your soldiers under false
pretences for their own gain.

More and more vets are becoming aware of this enraging reality and are speaking out.

I thinkthe rose tinted glasses need to come off and what your troups are ACTUALLY doing AND the circumstances around what they are doing should be
looked at more closely by the populace.

Maybe more objectivity is needed and less, I'm sorry to say, blind following.

edit on 10-8-2011 by soundofathousandbirds because: (no reason
given)

there's people all over that are FED UP with lies. It doesn't just come from the young generation who feel lost... it's coming from people who have
done all sorts of things in life...served, worked.... and they know they are being lied to...and not just about world events. it seems that so many of
societies systems are just getting more and more ineffective and ridiculous. Even people who lived in a world where they thought it was just a
matter of hard work and time and that things would get sorted out and they had faith in people and their country.... Just because they seemed to be a
such a compliant citizen most of their life doesn't mean they don't see something is up. i mean something has ALWAYS been up, but i really do think
that a lot of people know it's coming to a head. The "hard line" is weakening... and the more it crumbles, the more people you are going to see
throw their hands up in the air... they may not go riot, they may not do the first bad thing... but they are feeling it. I believe the blinders are
going to start coming down like a chain reaction.

True.
People are starting to wake up to this but in my eyes its just happening so slowly its rediculous.

At the same time the entertainment industry have some responsibilty in this also. How many films are about, red white and blue, stars and stripes, god
bless america and portray patriotism as being more along the lines of 'do what your told' than anything else. That and the fact that the US military
has funded movies! To me thats crazy!

I would say a lot of people who join the military to protect, do so based on noble principals but the reality is they are trained not to question and
follow orders which is grand, but it opens them up to huge manipulation!

How does a soldier fight in this type of battle? I feel bad for the soldiers in this situation.

It is not that simple because voting in this country no longer works. The richest and most powerful businessmen in the world really run this country
and their agenda is not what the peoples are, which is why they need to be removed. Any new elected officials just conform to the agenda they have. In
2010 the tea party voted in a bunch of new tea party members with the hope that they would shrink the government and lower taxes. It didnt work at
all. It has just gotten worse. Its not hard to see that nobodys interests are being represented by our politicians.

Unfortunately the military has been tricked into fighting for our "freedom" in the sands of a far off land when the real threat to our freedoms is
right here in this country. The taliban dont even compare to the danger we face from these corporate fascists. The interests our soldiers are fighting
for are in no way beneficial to any of the american, afghan, iraqi, yemeni or pakistani people. They are beneficial to the richest .05% and we are
just making them richer.

1980 – Iran. Operation Eagle Claw. On April 26, 1980, President Carter reported the use of six U.S. transport planes and eight helicopters in an
unsuccessful attempt to rescue the American hostages in Iran.

1980 - El Salvador — The Archbishop of San Salvador, Oscar Romero, pleads with President Carter "Christian to Christian" to stop aiding the
military government slaughtering his people. Carter refuses. Shortly afterwards, right-wing leader Roberto D’Aubuisson has Romero shot through the
heart while saying Mass. The country soon dissolves into civil war, with the peasants in the hills fighting against the military government. Death
squads roam the countryside, committing atrocities like that of El Mazote in 1982, where they massacre between 700 and 1000 men, women and children.
By 1992, some 63,000 Salvadorans will be killed.

1981 – El Salvador. After a guerrilla offensive against the government of El Salvador, additional US military advisers were sent to El Salvador,
bringing the total to approximately 55, to assist in training government forces in counterinsurgency.[RL30172]

1981 – Libya. First Gulf of Sidra Incident On August 19, 1981, US planes based on the carrier USS Nimitz shot down two Libyan jets over the Gulf of
Sidra after one of the Libyan jets had fired a heat-seeking missile. The United States periodically held freedom of navigation exercises in the Gulf
of Sidra, claimed by Libya as territorial waters but considered international waters by the United States.[RL30172]

1981 - Iran/Contra Begins — The CIA begins selling arms to Iran at high prices, using the profits to arm the Contras fighting the Sandinista
government in Nicaragua. President Reagan vows that the Sandinistas will be "pressured" until "they say ‘uncle.’" The CIA’s Freedom
Fighter’s Manual disbursed to the Contras includes instruction on economic sabotage, propaganda, extortion, bribery, blackmail, interrogation,
torture, murder and political assassination.

1982 – Sinai. On March 19, 1982, President Reagan reported the deployment of military personnel and equipment to participate in the Multinational
Force and Observers in the Sinai. Participation had been authorized by the Multinational Force and Observers Resolution, Public Law
97-132.[RL30172]

1982 – Lebanon. Multinational Force in Lebanon. On August 21, 1982, President Reagan reported the dispatch of 800 Marines to serve in the
multinational force to assist in the withdrawal of members of the Palestine Liberation force from Beirut. The Marines left September 20,
1982.[RL30172]

1982–83 – Lebanon. On September 29, 1982, President Reagan reported the deployment of 1200 marines to serve in a temporary multinational force to
facilitate the restoration of Lebanese government sovereignty. On September 29, 1983, Congress passed the Multinational Force in Lebanon Resolution
(P.L. 98-119) authorizing the continued participation for eighteen months.[RL30172]

1983 – Egypt. After a Libyan plane bombed a city in Sudan on March 18, 1983, and Sudan and Egypt appealed for assistance, the United States
dispatched an AWACS electronic surveillance plane to Egypt.[RL30172]

1983 – Grenada. Operation Urgent Fury. Citing the increased threat of Soviet and Cuban influence and noting the development of an international
airport following a bloodless Grenada coup d'état and alignment with the Soviets and Cuba, the U.S. invades the island nation of
Grenada.[RL30172]

1983–89 – Honduras. In July 1983 the United States undertook a series of exercises in Honduras that some believed might lead to conflict with
Nicaragua. On March 25, 1986, unarmed US military helicopters and crewmen ferried Honduran troops to the Nicaraguan border to repel Nicaraguan
troops.[RL30172] 1983 – Chad. On August 8, 1983, President Reagan reported the deployment of two AWACS electronic surveillance planes and eight F-15
fighter planes and ground logistical support forces to assist Chad against Libyan and rebel forces.[RL30172]

1984 – Persian Gulf. On June 5, 1984, Saudi Arabian jet fighter planes, aided by intelligence from a US AWACS electronic surveillance aircraft and
fueled by a U.S. KC-10 tanker, shot down two Iranian fighter planes over an area of the Persian Gulf proclaimed as a protected zone for
shipping.[RL30172]

1985 – Italy. On October 10, 1985, US Navy pilots intercepted an Egyptian airliner and forced it to land in Sicily. The airliner was carrying the
hijackers of the Italian cruise ship Achille Lauro who had killed an American citizen during the hijacking.[RL30172]

1986 – Libya. Action in the Gulf of Sidra (1986) On March 26, 1986, President Reagan reported on March 24 and 25, US forces, while engaged in
freedom of navigation exercises around the Gulf of Sidra, had been attacked by Libyan missiles and the United States had responded with
missiles.[RL30172]

1986 – Libya. Operation El Dorado Canyon. On April 16, 1986, President Reagan reported that U.S. air and naval forces had conducted bombing strikes
on terrorist facilities and military installations in the Libyan capitol of Tripoli, claiming that Libyan leader Col. Muammar al-Gaddafi was
responsible for a bomb attack at a German disco that killed two U.S. soldiers.[RL30172]

1986 - Haiti — Rising popular revolt in Haiti means that "Baby Doc" Duvalier will remain "President for Life" only if he has a short one.
However, violence keeps the country in political turmoil for another four years. The CIA tries to strengthen the military by creating the National
Intelligence Service (SIN), which suppresses popular revolt through torture and assassination.

1986 – Bolivia. U.S. Army personnel and aircraft assisted Bolivia in anti-drug operations.[RL30172]

1987 – Persian Gulf. USS Stark was struck on May 17 by two Exocet antiship missiles fired from an Iraqi F-1 Mirage during the Iran-Iraq War killing
37 US Navy sailors.

1987 – Persian Gulf. Operation Nimble Archer. Attacks on two Iranian oil platforms in the Persian Gulf by United States Navy forces on October 19.
The attack was a response to Iran's October 16, 1987 attack on the MV Sea Isle City, a reflagged Kuwaiti oil tanker at anchor off Kuwait, with a
Silkworm missile.

1987–88 – Persian Gulf. Operation Earnest Will - After the Iran-Iraq War (the Tanker War phase) resulted in several military incidents in the
Persian Gulf, the United States increased US joint military forces operations in the Persian Gulf and adopted a policy of reflagging and escorting
Kuwaiti oil tankers through the Persian Gulf to protect them from Iraqi and Iranian attacks. President Reagan reported that US ships had been fired
upon or struck mines or taken other military action on September 21 (Iran Ajr), October 8, and October 19, 1987 and April 18 (Operation Praying
Mantis), July 3, and July 14, 1988. The United States gradually reduced its forces after a cease-fire between Iran and Iraq on August 20,
1988.[RL30172] It was the largest naval convoy operation since World War II.[6]

1987–88 – Persian Gulf. Operation Prime Chance was a United States Special Operations Command operation intended to protect U.S. -flagged oil
tankers from Iranian attack during the Iran-Iraq War. The operation took place roughly at the same time as Operation Earnest Will.

1988 – Persian Gulf. Operation Praying Mantis was the April 18, 1988 action waged by U.S. naval forces in retaliation for the Iranian mining of the
Persian Gulf and the subsequent damage to an American warship.

1988 – Honduras. Operation Golden Pheasant was an emergency deployment of U.S. troops to Honduras in 1988, as a result of threatening actions by the
forces of the (then socialist) Nicaraguans.

1988 – USS Vincennes shoot down of Iran Air Flight 655

1988 – Panama. In mid-March and April 1988, during a period of instability in Panama and as the United States increased pressure on Panamanian head
of state General Manuel Noriega to resign, the United States sent 1,000 troops to Panama, to "further safeguard the canal, US lives, property and
interests in the area." The forces supplemented 10,000 US military personnel already in the Panama Canal Zone.[RL30172]

1989 – Libya. Second Gulf of Sidra Incident On January 4, 1989, two US Navy F-14 aircraft based on the USS John F. Kennedy shot down two Libyan jet
fighters over the Mediterranean Sea about 70 miles north of Libya. The US pilots said the Libyan planes had demonstrated hostile
intentions.[RL30172]

1989 – Panama. On May 11, 1989, in response to General Noriega's disregard of the results of the Panamanian election, President Bush ordered a
brigade-sized force of approximately 1,900 troops to augment the estimated 1,000 U.S. forces already in the area.[RL30172]The U.S. invades Panama to
overthrow a dictator of its own making, General Manuel Noriega. Noriega has been on the CIA’s payroll since 1966, and has been transporting drugs
with the CIA’s knowledge since 1972.

1989 – Colombia, Bolivia, and Peru. Andean Initiative in War on Drugs. On September 15, 1989, President Bush announced that military and law
enforcement assistance would be sent to help the Andean nations of Colombia, Bolivia, and Peru combat illicit drug producers and traffickers. By
mid-September there were 50–100 US military advisers in Colombia in connection with transport and training in the use of military equipment, plus
seven Special Forces teams of 2–12 persons to train troops in the three countries.[RL30172]

1989 – Philippines. Operation Classic Resolve. On December 2, 1989, President Bush reported that on December 1, Air Force fighters from Clark Air
Base in Luzon had assisted the Aquino government to repel a coup attempt. In addition, 100 marines were sent from U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay to protect
the United States Embassy in Manila.[RL30172]

1989–90 – Panama. Operation Just Cause. On December 21, 1989, President Bush reported that he had ordered US military forces to Panama to protect
the lives of American citizens and bring General Noriega to justice. By February 13, 1990, all the invasion forces had been withdrawn.[RL30172] Around
200 Panamanian civilians were reported killed. The Panamanian head of state, General Manuel Noriega, was captured and brought to the U.S.

and this is just from 1980-1990~! .. and personally, the more we respond, the more war there is, why don't our allies be involved in all these wars..
? I don't see Japan or England deeply involved as we are .. why aren't they? I

IMO, because they're smart and know that wars are expensive and each side knows this; except for the US, apparently.

the list goes on ... and on .. and on..

Just wounder how many other nations can stack up to USA on the amount of wars they've been involved in.

True.
People are starting to wake up to this but in my eyes its just happening so slowly its rediculous.

At the same time the entertainment industry have some responsibilty in this also. How many films are about, red white and blue, stars and stripes, god
bless america and portray patriotism as being more along the lines of 'do what your told' than anything else. That and the fact that the US military
has funded movies! To me thats crazy!

I would say a lot of people who join the military to protect, do so based on noble principals but the reality is they are trained not to question and
follow orders which is grand, but it opens them up to huge manipulation!

How does a soldier fight in this type of battle? I feel bad for the soldiers in this situation.

So do I... because we have a lot of good soldiers and i bet it get's really #ty when you start thinking you don't know whose side you're on.... and
i know what you mean by ridiculous, because we have to get to bottom of this #.

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